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omestic textile manufacturers have asked the anti-dumping authority to drop its investigations into several types of yarns and plans to impose any measures due to potential losses on downstream players requiring the products.

The Indonesian Anti-Dumping Committee (KADI) has proposed punitive duties ranging from 4.5 to 16 percent on the products in question to offset losses caused by the alleged dumping practice, according to Indonesian Textile Association (API) chairman Ade Sudrajat.

He said the additional duties imposed on the products, which are largely imported, would push up production costs.

'€œThe snowball effects will be big. The duties will be very detrimental to our overall domestic textile industry,'€ Ade said.

The local production of yarns totaled 28,000 tons in the first half of this year, 25,000 tons of which were utilized by its own manufacturers for further production processes, according to an estimate by the business group.

The remaining 3,000 tons were sold to the domestic market, but as demand hit 7,000 tons, downstream producers still had to import the rest.

Dumping is defined as an unfair trade practice carried out by a firm that exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges on its own home market or than its production cost.

An anti-dumping authority would announce any measures within 15 months after the investigation was initiated.

KADI began its investigations into three types of yarns '€” spin-drawn yarn, partially-oriented yarn and drawn-textured yarn '€” in early August last year.

The probe into the alleged dumping of spin-drawn yarn from China, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan followed a request from major yarn makers PT Indorama Ventures Indonesia and publicly listed PT Asia Pacific Fibers Tbk.

Meanwhile, the investigation on partially-oriented yarn sourced from Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, China and South Korea was based on the petition by PT Indorama Synthetics Tbk., PT Asia Pacific Fibers Tbk. and PT Indorama Polyester Industries Indonesia.

A separate probe on drawn-textured yarn purchased from China, Malaysia, Taiwan, India and Thailand responded to a complaint by PT Asia Pacific Fibers Tbk and PT Indorama Synthetics Tbk.

Unlike the yarn industry, which is capital-intensive, the spinning industry, which uses products from the yarn industry, employs a sizeable workforce of over 200,000, so it would be detrimental to downstream players using yarns as their raw materials if the government imposed any measures in the form of anti-dumping tariffs to save the upstream industry from alleged dumping, according to Ade.

The impact of planned anti-dumping duties would severely affect around 3,000 firms nationwide, he added.

KADI chief Ernawati said her office was targeting to conclude its investigations on the three types of yarns before August.

The commission released the essential facts and held a hearing on the findings last week.

'€œWe are studying responses from related stakeholders for our consideration,'€ Ernawati said in response to the association'€™s protest.